


At the End of all your Lines

by slartibartfast



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Angst, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-17
Updated: 2009-11-17
Packaged: 2017-10-03 04:52:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slartibartfast/pseuds/slartibartfast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This wonderful, incredible woman had to die. Rose had to talk her into it.<br/>Set during Turn Left.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At the End of all your Lines

Donna didn't look like she was one to cry, but her eyes were as red as her hair and her cheeks were damp. Rose felt wrong, stepping in on her like this, but it was necessary. They didn't have much time left. The air around them was dark and cold and the sky was black above them, speckled with bright stars even here in the middle of a broken city. There were people milling around as there always were; a whole country shoved into half of one left little space for privacy.

But no one looked at them as Rose sat beside her on the cracked wooden bench. It was damp. It had been raining earlier. The cold seeped through her jeans and she cringed, but there were more important things to think about.

"My life wasn't meant to go this way," Donna said.

Rose pressed her hands between her knees to keep the cold away and turned her head to look at the woman. "You believe me then."

"Nah," said Donna. She was slumped with the weight of the heavens on her shoulders and her eyes were on the sky. "Not talking about all that. I just mean... I was going to have an ordinary life, you know? I was going to get a bloke, a house, a couple of bratty little kids. Maybe a cat, maybe a dog. I'd argue with my husband all day but we'd still be happy. We'd go on holiday to Spain and we'd all burn just this side of skin cancer. I'd get a stupid hobby like gardening or making cards and one day I'd retire and go bonkers just for the fun of it. You know, nothing interesting. Just ordinary."

Rose couldn't find words as her heart cracked just a bit. This woman - this stubborn, wonderful woman - was more important than she could ever imagine and all it did was make her deeply unhappy. She let her eyes linger on Donna for a moment longer then looked away. "Your life was never meant to go that way, Donna. I'm sorry."

"Gramps is ill," Donna replied as though she hadn't heard Rose's useless but heartfelt apology. Her voice tightened and her eyes shone with unspilt tears. "It's just the flu but with the stress of everything else... what if he doesn't want to get better? I heard a whole family gave in to the flu last week, just sat back and let it kill them. It's not like he's got anything to live for."

"If you come with me," Rose promised, "he'll have everything to live for."

Donna looked at her for the first time and the eye contact sent a spark of life through Rose. It had been a while since she'd felt that strange twinge within her, the hope and sudden sense of expectation that came with it. The crack in her heart grew until her chest was splintered with the pain of it, of the loss Rose knew would come soon. The loss that she would endure because she knew it was the only option and without it, the universe would be nothing.

This woman had to die, and Rose had to talk her into it.

"No," said Donna, turning her head away. "I've got to cook dinner tonight."

Rose was almost relieved. She wanted to beg Donna to stay away, they'd find another way. She knew that would never happen but oh, it was tempting. She forced something that was nothing but a ghostly imitation of a smile. "I'll see you later."

Donna nodded, wiped her eyes, and stood up. She stood there for a moment, muscles tensing and back straightening as she armed herself against this harsh existence once more. "Yeah," she said, as world-weary as was possible.

Rose stayed there for a little while, watching her leave with the cold smarting her cheeks.

This was going to be more difficult than she expected, and for all the wrong reasons.


End file.
